Shelton moves to 3-0 for first time since 2008

Michael Fornabaio

Updated 1:10 am, Saturday, September 28, 2013

WOODBRIDGE -- Whenever Amity threatened Shelton's perfect start, the Gaels had an answer Friday night, usually with a big play to make the statement.

Quarterback Mark Piccirillo was in on five of the Gaels' seven touchdowns, and Jason Thompson ran for the other two in a 49-30 win at Johnson Field. Shelton is 3-0 for the first time since 2008.

"Our offense just starts rolling," said Thompson, who ran for 231 yards on 20 carries. "We don't look back. That's what we did, we executed on offense. That's what we've got to do when teams score points, execute our offense."

Shelton, ranked 11th in the state writers' poll and tied for ninth in the coaches' poll, opened a 27-3 lead late in the second quarter before Amity scored its first touchdown.

"They're underrated. We knew that coming in," said Spartans coach Bert Mozealous, whose team was looking for its first 3-0 start since 2007.

"We jump offside. We blitz two guys in one gap; they run through the other gap. There are little things we've got to correct."

But there wasn't much stopping the Gaels' big weapons Friday.

"We moved the ball, I don't want to say at will, but very well offensively," Shelton coach Jeff Roy said. "We threw the ball more tonight than we did the first two games. We opened up a bit."

Thompson had 18 yards on his first eight carries, but then with the passing game clicking, seven of his last 12 rushes went for 17 yards or more ("big holes," Thompson said). He had explosive scoring runs of 24 and 32 yards.

Piccirillo threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior receiver Kyle Drost; Drost also caught a pair of two-point conversions.

"That kid 84 (Drost) is just a beast and a half," Mozealous said. "Anything you do short of tackling him, you're not going to stop him."

The teams traded turnovers on their first drives. Shelton's Mike Pingree recovered a fumble, then caught a 45-yard pass to set up the first touchdown to Drost. Amity appeared to be driving for an answer, but Troy Vasilescu's sack of Dave Ryan left Amity to settle for Lyle Luth's 39-yard field goal. Pingree took the kickoff 50 yards to the Amity 41, and a short drive later it was 13-3.

The Gaels have scored 149 points in three games.

"Their quarterback can run," Mozealous said. "They're really a running team first, but they have great receivers, and they have depth. They can afford the opportunity to play guys only one way. We don't have that depth."

It wasn't a perfect night for the visitors. Shelton was hit with 11 penalties for 90 yards. Ryan threw for 372 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to speedy Ben Feola in the third quarter for 64 and 67 yards.

"We had a couple of big stops, a couple of big plays," Roy said. "We've got to get better on defense. We can't give up that many points."